Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, MP Thomas. The idea behind this interpretive provision was that the concept of journalist independence would be understood as it's understood by the news and journalism industry and sector. Again, there is no definition of it in the bill. The intention was that it would be understood in relation to how the news sector understands it.

Canadian Heritage committee  Through the chair, thank you for your question, Mrs. Thomas. The clause in question is an interpretive clause. It was put there to clearly signal that the regime should be applied in a manner consistent with journalistic independence. There is no definition of journalistic independence provided for in the act as currently drafted.

Canadian Heritage committee  The framework as proposed was intended to keep government intervention to a minimum. There were different models that were considered. There was a discussion earlier about the European approach, which has gone the copyright route, but one of the reasons the model on the table was chosen was to leave it to the platforms and news businesses to engage in commercial negotiations with limited government involvement.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you. I apologize for being late this morning. Thank you for the question. There is no definition for “indigenous storytelling”, which, I understand, is being proposed. It's a recognition that indigenous communities sometimes have a different way of communicating or sharing information.

Canadian Heritage committee  Madam Chair, if I may, there is a series of steps you would have to work through. The first is whether the platform is a digital news intermediary and designated under the act, pursuant to the criteria in clause 6. Then, as per the conversation you had with my colleague earlier, “making available” news content includes what's in the audiovisual format.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you for the question, MP Thomas. Right now, on the basis of how the act is crafted, no, it could not be a single individual. The eligibility criteria in clause 27 are derived from the key elements of the definition of a qualified Canadian journalism organization under the Income Tax Act.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. It's Mr. Ripley.

Canadian Heritage committee  On the concept of “making available” news content, paragraph 2(2)(b) talks about “access to the news content...including an index, aggregation or ranking of news content”, so that would include linking to it. The concept of “making available” news content, though—and I recognize there's been a lot of debate about this—is the trigger for when a platform is under an obligation to bargain.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for the question, Mrs. Thomas. The bill is intended to require bargaining with news businesses that operate in Canada. If you look at clause 27 and the eligibility criteria, for example, a “qualified Canadian journalism organization” under the Income Tax Act must be operated and controlled by Canadians.

Canadian Heritage committee  What I can say is that, if you look at, for example, subparagraph 11(1)(a)(vi), the bill already contemplates or would require bargaining with a range of news outlets, and the government has put down a marker that there has to be a wide range of news outlets reflecting the diversity of the Canadian news marketplace.

Canadian Heritage committee  If the bill stays as it is and there is still the reference to a diversity of news outlets, and if we have the language that I spoke about earlier—“including diversity with respect to language, racialized groups, Indigenous communities, local news and business models”—I believe what Mr.

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes. Essentially, it would create a new concept, a new definitional term within that context, specifically related to indigenous news outlets and indigenous peoples. I certainly don't want to speak with regard to Mr. Julian's motivations, but I think the follow-through of this amendment is to have an obligation for digital news intermediaries to include digital news outlets in their bargaining, to specifically ensure that digital news outlets would be included in that, but I certainly defer to Mr.

Canadian Heritage committee  The motion that is on the table simply creates the definitional concept of “indigenous news outlet”. However, part of what the motion does is then modify the concept of “news outlet” to specify that it includes indigenous news outlets. If you look at how the concept, the existing defined term, of “news outlet” is used throughout the bill, you'll see that it's used in various places, including, for example, in the exemption criterion that specifies that digital news intermediaries must sign agreements that do a variety of things in order to obtain that exemption.

Canadian Heritage committee  The impact is that the bill is structured in such a way that the obligation on digital news intermediaries is to bargain with news businesses, but there is a secondary category of news outlet that sits below the concept of news business, and that's to, again, recognize that certain media groups own both news properties and non-news properties.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you for the question. With respect to LinkedIn, my assessment would be that it meets the definition of social media. It is a social media service and thus meets the definition of digital news intermediary. Again, it would potentially be subject to the framework if it met the threshold in clause 6.